Episode Overview
Welcome to Seizing Life, a CURE podcast. Host and CURE Board Member Kelly Cervantes brings you inspirational and helpful stories about epilepsy, how it impacts lives, and the search for a cure.
For Kelly and her family, epilepsy is deeply personal. Her daughter, Adelaide, was diagnosed with a rare, severe, and often treatment-resistant form of epilepsy when she was just 7 months old. Since then, Kelly has fought for answers, not only for Adelaide, but for all families like hers.
Hear Kelly’s story and learn about this new epilepsy podcast in this episode. Together, we can find a cure. We can seize life.
Episode Transcript
Kelly Cervantes: On October 17th, 2015 we welcomed Adelaide Grace, our beautiful baby girl, into the world. She was feisty from the start, but her development was noticeably slower in comparison to her older brother. By the time she was four months old we were meeting with a neurologist and had begun testing. We were nervous but certain that she would be ok, that nothing could be truly wrong.
Kelly Cervantes: Several months later, while my husband was auditioning for the lead role in Hamilton: An American Musical, Adelaide had her first seizure. Over the next week as we were in and out of the hospital and Miguel was in and out of casting rooms, our sweet girl was diagnosed with a condition called epilepsy. With that one word, our lives would never be the same.
Kelly Cervantes: My husband, Miguel, landed the role of Hamilton in the Chicago production and we simultaneously prepared for a move to the Windy City, all while learning everything we could about epilepsy. The past two and half years have been a wild ride with the highest of highs and absolutely heartbreaking lows.
Kelly Cervantes: During this time, I had the chance to meet so many inspiring people who dealt with epilepsy head-on. It is these people and experiences that became the inspiration for this podcast: Seizing Life. The show is a chance to share stories of how epilepsy affects not only patients, but also their families and friends. We will go beyond the condition and explore our community, our shared experiences, and highlight amazing work being done by and for people with epilepsy.
Kelly Cervantes: Each week on Seizing Life, we want to give you ideas, resources, and stories to help you understand how to improve the quality of epilepsy care. And we want you to know that you are not alone. You are part of a community who chooses to seize life, and fight like hell to find a cure.
Kelly Cervantes: I hate epilepsy. My family hates epilepsy. But we love our friends and family who are affected by it to the ends of the Earth. Seizing Life is a call-to-arms to every patient, parent, and doctor who has seen the devastating effects of epilepsy and wondered why we do not yet have a cure. No one is going to fight as hard as we will. With this podcast we will bring awareness, education as we shine a light on current research so that we can bring hope to the 65 million people around the world who currently suffer from epilepsy.
Kelly Cervantes: That is why I am working Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy, or CURE, to launch this podcast. CURE’s goal is to find a cure for epilepsy by promoting and funding patient-focused research.
Kelly Cervantes: So, I ask you to join me on Seizing Life each week as we explore a variety of issues, like how to deal with the stigma of epilepsy, being married with children with epilepsy, and life of a supermom. By sticking together, we can find a cure. We can seize life.